Caldwell's Cooper Milano may not normally be as comfortable using his left foot to strike the ball. But when his team needed him the most, the junior midfielder showed he's more than capable from either side.

Milano is a natural righty, but his left-footed cross set up teammate Christian Hauser for the game-winning goal with 2:25 left as Caldwell defeated Newark Tech, 3-2, in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2 playoffs yesterday in West Caldwell.

"We ask the boys, if it's on your left foot, you've got to play it with your left foot, and Cooper did so," Caldwell coach Alan Branigan said. "He turned his hips, got in a quality cross, and the timing was right for (Christian)."

Caldwell (12-7-1) had found itself on the defensive for most of the second half, but it would emerge with its first playoff victory in roughly a decade. Milano's cross came from about 30 yards away and connected with Hauser in stride as he headed it in from the right side.

"I saw an opening on the left side, and I called for the ball from (James) Sweeney," Milano said. "I heard one of my teammates yell, 'cross.' I saw Hauser over there, and he put it in."

"I saw the defender follow Billy (Evers) to the near post and just left me unmarked near the back post," Hauser said. "It was a great ball from Coop. It was perfect."

Milano gave Caldwell its first lead of the game when he scored in the 52nd minute to make the score 2-1. Newark Tech (13-5-3) would rally back as Ayodele Ojutalayo redirected an Adrian Martinez direct kick off the hand of a diving Colin Hill to tie the game in the 66th minute.

Martinez gave Newark Tech a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 12th minute, with Caldwell answering right back on a 35th minute goal by Evers.

Hill made six saves for Caldwell, which advances to face Garfield in the quarterfinals. Fernando Orellano made five saves for Newark Tech, which, despite the heartbreaking end to its season, has plenty of reason for optimism as it started four freshmen and four sophomores.

"I think my team played a great game. They have nothing to be ashamed of," Newark Tech coach Herbert Ramos said. "I have a lot of young players, and we'll be back next year."